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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28389318">One Last Time</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/roryprilla/pseuds/roryprilla'>roryprilla</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Teen Wolf (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Future, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, can't remember what happened in the show and what in fics I read so I hope it makes some sense, mentions of spark!Stiles Stilinski</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 14:46:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,484</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28389318</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/roryprilla/pseuds/roryprilla</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been over five years since Stiles and Derek last saw each other.<br/>Scott calls Stiles home to help deal with one more monster.<br/>He also calls Derek for help.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>63</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>One Last Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A soft knock on the room of his door startled Stiles out of him dozing off over his laptop once more. The total darkness surrounding him would have scared him at one point or another in the past but now it was a welcome friend. It took him years of therapy but eventually, he learned to cope with the trauma of his mother’s untimely demise, the years of near-death experiences as a teenager and even that time a thousand-years-old fox spirit possessing him ended in him killing one of his closest friends. He shook his head at that thought. It wasn’t his fault, he knew that. Yet, he couldn’t shake the guilt rising in his chest.<br/>
He only arrived back from Washington a couple of days ago and <i>only</i> because Scott swore he couldn’t deal with whatever monster appeared in Beacon Hills two weeks prior to their phone call. He did sound genuinely concerned so Stiles used all his charm and ability to manipulate his superiors to let him go for a few days.<br/>
Based on what little research he could get done with the constant monkeying around - to act like he came back for a normal visit and not an <i>I’m-trying-to-stop-a-monster-from-snacking-on-your-flesh</i> kind -, he gathered the creature was a manticore. And an especially nasty one at that.<br/>
The second time the knocking sounded a bit more impatient and Stiles growled at the noise like he always used to back in high school when his dad woke him up in the morning.</p><p>‘Yo, dad, just come in, I’m up’ Stiles said with a yawn and stepped over to his dresser to get out his pyjamas, he was so ready for bed. The door creaked open behind his back. He forgot to do his laundry during the day, <i>again</i>, like every single day since he got home, and the only thing he managed to find in the morning was an old blue and orange t-shirt that was way too tight on the muscles he gained during his years with the FBI. He turned around with the fabric stuck on his head, unable to escape from its deadly grip. ‘Help?’</p><p>‘Certainly. What are you trying to do?’ sounded the answer followed by a badly covered chuckle.</p><p>‘Derek?! You’re back in BH?’ Stiles froze than bowed in the direction he assumed the werewolf was, gesturing at the murderous clothing item.</p><p>‘And so are you’ he nodded and stepped closer, freeing Stiles from the death grip of the t-shirt he vaguely remembered from a time they both tried to forget.</p><p>‘Dude, I haven’t seen you in what must have been… I don’t even know…’</p><p>‘About five years…?’ Derek offered and Stiles nodded in agreement.</p><p>‘Could it be that long? That is crazy, life just kinda got busy after getting out of school, I guess’ Stiles scratched the back of his neck as he looked him up and down. ‘You look better. You look <i>great</i>. And I know this is going to be a bit weird, especially with me being half-naked but I am going to hug you if that is okay with you.’</p><p>‘It is okay’ Derek stepped into Stiles’ reached out arms, comfortable with the embrace. ‘And you look great, too. Despite those bullet wounds on your shoulder.’</p><p>‘They’re all healed now and honestly, it wasn’t that bad’ Stiles stepped back to shrug.</p><p>‘Did you faint?’ Derek raised an eyebrow.</p><p>‘Of course, I did, it hurt like a bitch’ a warm smile appeared on his face and he took a couple more steps back. ‘However, I’d like to think my debt to Lady Karma is now considered paid.’</p><p>‘Your debt?’</p><p>‘A life I saved… for a life I took’ he forced lightness in his voice but his eyes turned dark with sadness. Derek put a hand on his shoulder but decided not to say anything.</p><p> </p><p>The warmth of the skin-to-skin contact made Stiles shiver in the coldness of the room and his heartbeat picked up the tempo. They just stood in silence for what could have been minutes or hours, Stiles wasn’t entirely sure. It was a nice moment they shared and he let himself enjoy the content, knowing peace; the kind people only shared with their oldest of friends. But as life is, all good things must come to an end and that is exactly what happened when Stiles’ phone started buzzing on the desk next to his laptop.</p><p>‘I bet that is Scott calling to ask what I managed to find out about our friendly new creature’ he turned his head before stepping away to pick it up. He couldn’t see Derek’s hand hover in the air between them for a couple more seconds before sliding it back into his pocket. ‘Hey, Scotty! Tell me about your master plan so I can tell you how you're wrong!’</p><p>Derek barely visibly nodded to himself before moving closer, the orange-blue t-shirt still in his left hand, carefully placing it on the back of the chair. ‘I should get going…’</p><p>Stiles shook his head and grabbed Derek’s wrist, knowing full well his attempt to stop the werewolf from anything he truly wanted to do would be useless. But Derek stayed. Only partially listening in on the on-going conversation, most of his attention turned to the cold fingers of Stiles against his ever-hot skin. The call ended not too long after but the hand didn’t leave.</p><p>‘I’m going to assume you heard that’ he was chewing on his lower lip, only letting go of Derek when he walked over to his dresser to pick up another t-shirt from his early teens. He really needed to sort out this room when he had the time.</p><p>‘I tried not to’ Derek closed the laptop and shuffled around a couple of pens on a notebook. The desk looked like no time had passed since the first time he was there. The obvious evidence of endless research made him almost as nostalgic as it had made him sad. ‘Is this why you are back?’</p><p>Stiles was uncharacteristically silent and Derek realised he was waiting for him to turn around before answering. ‘Isn’t it why you are?’</p><p>‘That is different.’</p><p>‘How so? And I know I haven’t done any of this in years but I still am pack’ Stiles’ scent turned bitter with disappointment as he stormed out of the room. Derek could hear him stomping around, making coffee in the kitchen, leaving him to calm down before joining him.</p><p>‘What I meant…’ Derek said, stepping in, leaning against the counter next to a pouting Stiles ‘…look, Stiles. Of course, you are pack. You’re more of a pack member, to both Scott and me than anyone else. But this is dangerous.’</p><p>‘I can take dangerous. Hell, I <i>enjoy</i> dangerous. I made a career out of it, I’m such an adrenaline junkie’ he smacked down his mug with a bit too much force, resulting in the coffee to spill. The one he placed next to Derek’s hand had a much softer landing.</p><p>‘Yeah, I guess we could talk about your questionable life choices later’ Derek rolled his eyes as he moved his drink up for a sip.</p><p>‘Derek… I’m serious. I am not a child...’ Stiles started chewing on his bottom lip again.</p><p>‘I never thought…’ Derek shook his head but then never finished the sentence. They finished their coffees in silence. Stiles made a show out of looking at his watch after placing the mugs into the sink. ‘Alright…! But you have to promise you’ll listen to me.’</p><p>‘Scout’s honour!’ his smile was all teeth and Derek felt his insides warm up a bit. The blamed it on the hot drink.</p><p>‘I am going to regret this…’ Derek mumbled under his breath when Stiles grabbed the sleeve of his leather jacket and pulled him out into the front garden.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div>‘Have you absolutely <i>lost your mind</i>?!’ Derek shouted at him, not that he could see, his head was way too dizzy to safely open his eyes. A hand softly stroked his face before landing on his shoulder. ‘Stiles, are you alright?’<p>‘Don’t worry, Sourwolf, I am alive’ Stiles flashed a smug smile. Or more like one that was meant to be smug. The blood covering most of his forehead and half of his face took the edge of it.</p><p>‘You made yourself its target!’ Scott sounded more panicked than pissed but he still sounded like he was fuming.</p><p>‘I did what I had to’ Stiles only risked a shrug.</p><p>‘What you <i>had</i> to do was stay in the goddamn car after helping us find this goddamn manticore!’ Derek knelt down behind Stiles and pulled him in, letting him lean against his chest.</p><p>‘You would have died.’</p><p>Scott made a sad puppy noise and sat down next to them on the wet ground. ‘Manticores don’t feed on werewolves.’</p><p>‘Well, maybe we should have enlightened this mistaken dude <i>before</i> he tried to kill the both of you. Those three rows of shark-like teeth only look cool from like three feet away.’ Since the spinning stopped, Stiles elected to open his eyes to assess the damage done to his pack. Scott looked mostly fine, a few cuts here and there and based on all the senses Stiles was able to use, he got the rest of the pack out just in time to save them from a rather painful fight.<br/>
But Derek… Stiles could feel the warm stickiness of blood on his back where it touched the werewolf’s chest. His face was swollen on the side the monster hit him with its tail but at least the tiny wounds left by the razor-sharp teeth already healed up. The other arm, the one Derek used to hold Stiles close to him, seemed to be unharmed. Reaching up in a clumsy attempt to stroke away the redness made Derek smile. On the periphery of his vision, Stiles saw Scott turn his back and leave in a hurry, phone against his ear. Stiles didn’t care. They were safe once again.</p><p>‘I’ll heal in no time. But we need to take you home’ Derek placed his fingers on the back on Stiles’ hand, encouraging him to leave it on his face.</p><p>‘My dad would freak out…’</p><p>‘I meant my place’ Derek closed his eyes and let out a sigh. ‘I already called your dad about it. I told him you were injured but I’d take care of you. He was fine with it.’</p><p>‘Of course, he was’ Stiles smiled. As much as the Sheriff disliked Derek in the beginning, he learned to trust and love him as the years passed. ‘I appreciate the offer but I can’t spend a night at the loft. That place still triggers my anxiety.’</p><p>‘That won’t be a problem. I have a small house at the edge of the preserve, by the lake. Not far from here. It's in case I ever need to come back. ’ Derek carefully shifted out from under Stiles and stood up. His face was back to its normal shape and colour, and the blood stopped leaking from his side. ‘Are you good to stand?’</p><p>‘I might need a hand but…’</p><p>‘I’d just rather know now if I need to carry you bridal style again…!’ Derek smiled and held out his hand for Stiles to grab.</p><p>‘That happened <i>once</i>!’ he answered with faked outrage. Other than being lightheaded from either the hit to his temple or the blood loss, he also started feeling the unmistakeable deep-dive of the adrenaline leaving his body. ‘If we’re fast, I can make it on my feet. I’d rather you carry me in an entirely different setting.’</p><p>Derek froze for a second at that but he nodded. ‘We’ll get back to that when you are feeling better.’</p><p>‘I can’t wait’ Stiles put an arm around the werewolf’s shoulder and let himself get escorted to the car.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div>‘I know <i>normal</i> is rather subjective, especially in our lives, but I can’t say I see this every day’ Stiles flashed a smile at Derek as he placed a cup of green tea between them on the counter. Without the alarming amount of blood on his face and clothes, Stiles looked almost healthy, considering the circumstances. The bowl of blueberries that was left next to him a couple of minutes earlier was almost empty.<p>‘You might have a concussion, I have to make sure you eat and drink well. I hope you like salmon and rice… and broccoli’ Derek turned back to take a look at his oven, readjusting the timer. ‘And normal is overrated.’</p><p>‘I was not complaining. Trust me. Quite the contrary’ finishing the berries, Stiles took the bowl and walked over to the sink in an attempt to wash up.</p><p>‘You need to sit down, I’ll take care of that!’ Derek stepped in behind him, placing his hand on the bowl, right under Stiles’.</p><p>‘But are you willing to fight for it?’ Stiles turned back over his shoulder. Their faces were so close together if Stiles wasn’t as mesmerised as he happened to be, he would have commented on how this was even less normal. And all the more enjoyable.</p><p>‘My days of trying to <i>fight</i> you are long gone’ Derek sighed but didn’t let go. Worry seemed to shadow his forehead as he considered his own words, closing his eyes slowly.</p><p>A soft, genuine smile appeared on Stiles’ lips at that and he shifted a bit to turn around without pushing Derek away. Lifting his hands, to lay them on each side of Derek’s face, he moved his thumbs to stroke the frown away. ‘You know when I was younger, I always thought when your eyebrows looked like this, it meant the world needed to be protected from you. You gave off the impression that you wanted to murder everyone you looked at.’</p><p>Derek didn’t answer, he didn’t even move. There was a very quiet hum after a couple of minutes of silence while Stiles continued the gentle movement.</p><p>‘I only just realised I had it all backwards… you were trying to protect yourself. When your eyebrows start dancing like this, your walls move up a bit.’ It was slightly difficult in the confined space for him to tiptoe but he made it work and placed a kiss on Derek’s forehead. ‘I’m not sure how to prove to you that you are safe with me and that I am here to stay if you want me to… if you haven’t figured that out for yourself all these years… or if you just don’t trust that I mean it… but it really has been years, Derek, and truthfully, I’m running out of ways to show you how I feel.’</p><p>‘Why <i>now</i>?’ Derek asked, voice barely a whisper.</p><p>‘You were in danger…’ Stiles started but got cut off by a snort from the werewolf. ‘Hear me out, please! You were in danger… because of me. Noticed that the manticore was hell-bent on tearing you apart but barely even touched Scott? Why do you think that was?’</p><p>‘I assumed it had to do with my face. As usual’ Derek shrugged but he opened his eyes with a curious expression on his face. Obviously avoiding looking him in the eye.</p><p>The right corner of Stiles’ mouth pulled up into a half-smile but his eyes were sadder than Derek would have liked, not that he dared looking into them. ‘There are only a few things more delicious to a manticore than fresh human flesh. As far as I could find, their number one choice would always be a Spark, even if we go untrained, like yours truly. Apparently, there is something about us they can smell that they find desirable.’</p><p>‘I get that’ Derek nodded. ‘From the first moment we’ve met, you’ve always smelt a bit more magical than others…’</p><p>‘More magical?’ Stiles tilted his head.</p><p>Staring at his mouth, Derek unconsciously licked his own lips. ‘It’s like smelling and tasting static… but in a good way. I can’t explain… <i>Anyway</i>... How did this lead to you being the reason for the manticore liking me as much as it did?’</p><p>‘Alright… but we will get back to the good static thing…!’ Stiles leaned back a bit, ever so slightly looking up at Derek. ‘When a Spark loves someone and is loved back, they have a special bond. They kind of become more connected to the supernatural together, even if the other is not supernatural of their own. When the Spark loves someone, like a <i>werewolf</i> for example, and is loved back by them, their connection to the supernatural gets even stronger. The manticore can sense this bond and it makes the loved person the second best snack on this entire planet.’</p><p>‘The only thing it wanted more than <i>me</i> was <i>you</i>, so you made yourself its target to save my life’ Derek stated this with a kind of lightness that made it seem like the true meaning - and the weight of it - didn’t quite click in place yet.</p><p>‘I couldn’t just sit there and watch you being eaten without you knowing why. Didn’t seem like a fair thing to do’ Stiles shrugged to make himself believe that the confession he just made didn’t scare the shit out of him. The next second the smallest smile appeared on Derek’s face and Stiles felt his chest fill with warmth.</p><p>‘Much appreciated’ Derek nodded with a serious expression. But his eyes lit up like never before. ‘How long have you known?’</p><p>‘About the bond? A couple of days. About my feelings? Not quite sure, they’ve been building since that time in the pool when Jackson tried to kill us’ Stiles slid his hands down the sides of Derek’s face, wrapping his arms around his neck. ‘And you?’</p><p>‘My mum used to say a werewolf can sense their mates, even without knowing what it truly means’ Derek moved his hands to the small of Stiles’ back, pulling him even closer. ‘For years I didn’t understand why I trusted you, even when I didn’t consciously. Why having Scott around annoyed me but having you around made me feel content, so much I accepted his presence as well. Of course, this just made my trust issues even worse. I couldn’t even trust my own senses. Until Jennifer. I was completely blinded by her, and you pulled me out of that. That was when I first thought of even the possibility of this being it. But then things happened and I didn’t have a chance to talk to you about it. I couldn’t. Having you in my life the way you were was safe. I couldn’t lose that.’</p><p>‘So you left.’ Stiles nodded, leaning his forehead against Derek’s.</p><p>‘So I left. And then I came back, hoping things have changed for the better. But the timing wasn’t right.’</p><p>‘Yes, the timing’s never been right’ Stiles whispered and Derek closed his eyes. ‘And now it is.’</p><p>Derek inhaled sharply, resisting the urge to open his eyes and jump around the room like a child. He couldn’t hide the smile spreading on his face though, not from the carefully watching eyes of Stiles. Stiles himself wasn’t far from jumping up and down in a rather childlike manner either, only if it wasn’t for his throbbing headache. As if he could hear his thoughts, Derek lifted his hands to Stiles’ face, letting his veins run black with pain. ‘I am going to kiss you and I need you to not feel unwell when I do.’</p><p>‘I approve. Gorgeous idea but less talking and more smooching, please!’ Stiles chuckled before diving in to meet Derek’s lips.</p><p>It was a painfully, exaggeratingly, wonderfully slow kiss. Derek nuzzled Stiles’ nose before he went in for the kill. One hand cupping his chin, holding on like it was his only lifeline; the other hand between them, a fistful of the shirt leaving very little space for wiggling. But Stiles’ hands weren’t completely petrified in place, one was stroking the back of Derek’s neck as if it was even possible they would part, the other moving up and down his back, desperately soothing away the years of hurt and sorrow.<br/>
Although the pain was gone, after a few minutes of intense kissing, Stiles started to get lightheaded again and had to lean back, much to his dismay.</p><p>‘I’m sorry, please don’t get this the wrong way…’ he started to explain.</p><p>‘No, no… don’t be silly. You are injured, this can wait’ Derek lifted his chin. ‘The salmon is just about ready, the rice and broccoli are at an edible temperature and since you are not allowed to sleep, we have the whole night to talk this through before making any decisions.’</p><p>‘And then we’ll have our whole lives to live with those decisions’ Stiles smiled and pressed a quick kiss on Derek’s lips.</p><p>‘I like the sound of that.’</p>
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